As the 2000s come to a close, investors are struck with the depressing realization that putting their money anywhere besides the stock market would have given better returns. Since the end of 1999, stocks on the New York Stock Exchange "have lost an average of 0.5% a year thanks to the twin bear markets this decade," reports the Wall Street Journal. And when the impact of inflation is considered, the decade looks even more depressing. In fact, there is no calendar decade in almost 200 years of American stock-market history that has been as bad for investors. One professor estimates that the stock market would have to increase by 3.6 percent before the end of the year in order for the decade to come out ahead of the 1930s. The '00s serve as a stark reminder that, even though it's not likely, stocks can, and do, sometimes go through extended periods of decline.
Read original story in The Wall Street Journal
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